Kevin Kennedy left the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office after three years to defend people accused of crimes. He prosecuted theft and fraud-related cases and understands how prosecutors evaluate payment records, contracts, receipts, surveillance, communications, intent, and alleged deception. Theft of services cases often arise from disputed transactions, making the distinction between a criminal offense and an ordinary payment dispute especially important.
Tennessee theft of services can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the value of the services. The State must prove more than the fact that a bill was not paid. Depending on the subsection charged, prosecutors must establish intentional deception or avoidance of payment, knowing diversion of services, or knowingly leaving certain establishments without payment or a bona fide offer to pay.
What Is Theft of Services in Tennessee?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-104 describes several ways theft of services may occur. One is intentionally obtaining services through deception, fraud, coercion, forgery, false statements, false pretenses, or another means used to avoid payment. Another applies when a person who controls the disposition of services knowingly diverts those services for personal benefit or for someone who is not entitled to them.
The statute also covers knowingly absconding from establishments where compensation is ordinarily paid immediately after services are rendered—including hotels, motels, and restaurants—without payment or a bona fide offer to pay. Each theory requires proof of a particular mental state and set of facts.
Failure to Pay Is Not Automatically Theft
An unpaid invoice, breached contract, or business dispute does not automatically establish theft of services. Criminal liability depends on intent and the statutory manner in which the services were obtained or diverted. A person who intended to pay but later became unable to do so presents a very different situation from someone who allegedly used deception from the beginning to avoid payment.
The defense should examine contracts, invoices, payment history, communications, attempted payments, disputed quality of services, chargebacks, account balances, and the timing of any alleged misrepresentation. These records can help show whether the case is truly criminal or is primarily a civil disagreement.
Common Examples of Theft of Services Allegations
Theft of services allegations may involve hotels, restaurants, contractors, professional services, utilities, transportation, rental arrangements, repair services, or employee misuse of services controlled on behalf of a business. The exact facts matter because § 39-14-104 contains different theories for obtaining, diverting, and leaving without paying.
Where the allegation involves deception, prosecutors may focus on false names, false payment information, forged documents, promises allegedly made without intent to perform, or other representations. The defense should separate inaccurate statements from statements that were actually material to obtaining the service and made with criminal intent.
What Are the Penalties for Theft of Services?
Theft of services is graded under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105 using the value of the services obtained. Services valued at $1,000 or less are generally a Class A misdemeanor. More than $1,000 but less than $2,500 is a Class E felony; $2,500 to less than $10,000 is a Class D felony; $10,000 to less than $60,000 is a Class C felony; $60,000 to less than $250,000 is a Class B felony; and $250,000 or more is a Class A felony.
Because the grade depends on value, billing records and valuation can become central. When multiple acts are alleged to arise from a common scheme, purpose, intent, or enterprise, Tennessee law may permit aggregation into a single count, potentially increasing the felony classification.
Claim of Right Defense
Tennessee’s claim-of-right statute applies to theft of services as well as theft of property. A person may have an affirmative defense if the person acted under an honest claim of right to the service, honestly believed there was a right to obtain or exercise control over it as done, or honestly believed the owner would have consented.
This can matter where services are provided under unclear agreements, family or business relationships, employment arrangements, subscriptions, shared accounts, or disputed contractual rights. Documentary evidence may be critical to showing the accused’s honest belief.
Common Defenses to Theft of Services Charges
Possible defenses include lack of intent to avoid payment, bona fide efforts to pay, disputed billing, claim of right, mistake, lack of deception, lack of proof that the accused received the service, inaccurate valuation, and unreliable witness testimony.
Challenge Intent and Alleged Deception
The State must prove more than nonpayment. If the prosecution alleges deception, the defense should identify the exact statement or conduct claimed to be deceptive, when it occurred, who relied on it, and whether contemporaneous communications show a genuine intent to pay or resolve the account.
Challenge Value and Aggregation
In felony cases, value can be outcome-determinative. The defense should review invoices, contracts, customary rates, credits, refunds, partial payments, disputed charges, and whether multiple transactions can properly be combined. Inflated or unsupported valuation can improperly increase the offense level.
How Kevin Kennedy Defends Theft of Services Cases
Kevin begins by obtaining the underlying transaction records and determining whether the State can actually prove criminal intent. He reviews contracts, invoices, receipts, payment records, text messages, emails, surveillance footage, business records, witness statements, and any statements made to police.
His former-prosecutor experience helps him distinguish cases involving genuine criminal deception from cases that may be rooted in a payment or contract dispute. Depending on the evidence, the defense may challenge intent, assert claim of right, show bona fide efforts to pay, dispute value, attack aggregation, seek suppression, negotiate for dismissal or reduction, or prepare for trial. If you are charged with theft of services in Nashville or Middle Tennessee, contact Kevin Kennedy Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation.
Legal references: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-14-104, 39-14-105, 39-14-107, and 40-35-111. This page is general information, not legal advice.